Family History
by Kara1626
Summary: Tony learns a bit about where certain "members" of the NCIS family came from. WARNING: Contains references to and discussion of spanking.
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: Contains references to and discussion of spanking.**

**Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I just borrow them.**

* * *

"All right, let's call it a night," Gibbs announced to his team. It was only 7:30 and Tim and Ziva jumped at the chance to get out "early". But as he'd expected, Tony stayed put. It was obvious to Gibbs that he was pretending to work. Ziva and Tim, however, didn't seem to notice as they quickly grabbed their things and headed for the elevator calling hasty "good-nights" before their boss could change his mind.

Once they were alone, Gibbs wandered over and perched on the edge of Tony's desk. Tony quickly closed the screen he'd been pretending to type on and busied himself with gathering his belongings. But Gibbs continued to perch silently and when Tony had run out of things to pick up or put away, he sat awkwardly, trying to figure out how to get out of his seat with Gibbs sitting right next to him. When he could find no escape, he slumped slightly in his chair.

"What's on your mind?" Gibbs asked quietly. He watched as Tony wrestled with how to answer that question.

"Nothing," Tony finally said with a deep sigh that rendered his statement completely false.

To Tony's surprise though, Gibbs shrugged, said "Ok," pushed himself off his desk and walked away. Tony sat in conflicted silence for a few minutes, but when it was clear that Gibbs wasn't coming back, he slowly picked up his things, mumbled something that was probably "good night" and left.

Gibbs sat at his desk and watched Tony leave. When the elevator doors slid shut, he sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair to think. Tony had been sullen and jumpy all day. He hadn't bantered with Ziva or Tim, and even passed up a few opportunities to correct Ziva's idioms, which was _very_ unusual. On the other hand, (and, Gibbs reflected, on a positive note) he'd been very quick to obey, which was also unusual. Gibbs sat and thought for a while. When he finally figured it out, it hit him like a Mack truck…he knew what this was all about. And he wasn't sure who he should be upset with – Tony or himself.

**Sunday Evening (the previous day)**

The entire team was gathered in Gibbs' kitchen – Ducky, Jimmy, Ziva, Tim, Abby, Tony, and even Jenny – chatting and getting dinner prepared. It was the first official "family" dinner since he and Tony had decided that it might be a nice thing to do, and so far, everything was going swimmingly. Of course, everyone had shown up only ten minutes earlier.

Gibbs was keeping an eye on Tony as he and Ducky cut steak into cubes for the kebabs they were planning to grill. Tony flitted from group to group chatting and laughing, but not actually doing anything helpful. Jenny, Ziva and Abby were washing and cutting up vegetables, and Tim and Jimmy were involved in a deeply scientific discussion about how, exactly, rice cooks while they engaged in the practical side of said discussion. Gibbs had planned to give everyone a specific job, but they had all simply grouped themselves together and gotten to work almost as soon as they walked in the door. Except Tony, of course. Since he didn't seem to be bothering anyone though, Gibbs didn't say anything. But, Tony being Tony, the peace didn't last long.

"Hey! You can't take the lid off – it won't cook right!" Gibbs heard Tim yell from the stove.

He didn't even have to look up to know what was happening. "Tony, go set the table," he ordered while reaching for another slab of meat.

"I just wanted to see it," Tony said defensively. At that, Gibbs did look up with a glare, and Tony quickly scampered off to do what he was told.

A few minutes later, he heard Ziva yell, "Put those down! We need those!" Gibbs looked up and saw Tony attempting – unsuccessfully – to juggle two red peppers and a yellow one.

"Tony, get drinks," Gibbs ordered, after glancing into the dining room to make sure Tony had done what he'd been told earlier.

"Hey! Stop! You're getting me all wet!" Tim yelled.

Gibbs looked up and caught Tony tossing ice cubes into cups – from across the kitchen. He put down his knife on the cutting board and walked across the kitchen to a drawer. He opened the drawer, took something out and put it firmly on the counter. "Tony," he called. Tony stopped – mid free-throw – and looked at his boss. His mouth fell open when he saw that Gibbs had removed an old wooden spoon from the drawer and put it on the counter. The sudden silence in the room told Tony that everyone else was looking at the spoon too. He blushed furiously, but he'd gotten the message.

Meekly, he started placing the ice in the cups, rather than throwing it. A few seconds later, everyone had returned to their tasks and their conversations and the incident had been forgotten. Or so Gibbs thought…


	2. Chapter 2

**Monday Night**

Gibbs heard the front door open and close and someone walk across the floor above him. He put down his sand paper, retrieved two beers from the mini fridge and returned to his sanding as Tony clomped down the basement steps. Without a word, and without stopping his sanding, Gibbs held out one of the beers. Tony had stopped at the bottom of the stairs, but took a few tentative steps toward Gibbs, just enough to reach the offered bottle, before retreating again. He sat at the bottom of the stairs and listened to the steady rhythm of the sand paper rubbing across the board – with the grain, naturally.

Gibbs worked silently, stopping only occasionally to take a sip and sneak a look at Tony. But every time he looked up, Tony was still in the same position: Sitting on the second to last step, turning the bottle absent-mindedly in his hands, staring at the floor. After half an hour of silence, Gibbs put down the sand paper, picked up his beer and walked across the basement toward Tony.

"Come on," he said quietly as he stepped past him and headed up the stairs. He walked across the kitchen and out onto the back deck. It was unseasonably warm, but the night air was starting to chill just a bit. Gibbs settled in a chair and waited. Almost a minute later, Tony joined him and settled into his own chair.

When Tony was sitting comfortably, staring up at the stars, Gibbs finally spoke. "So what about that bothered you, exactly?" he asked awkwardly.

Tony shrugged. "It was just embarrassing."

Gibbs silently congratulated himself for accurately figuring out what was bothering Tony before he continued. "In what way?"

Suddenly, Tony sat up and put his beer down on the small table between them. He leaned forward and looked directly at Gibbs. "You threatened to spank me like I was five years old and you did it in front of everyone!" he said angrily.

"You were _acting_ like you were five years old!" Gibbs retorted. He immediately regretted his tone and softened. He continued quickly before Tony had a chance to turn their conversation into a shouting match. "You were embarrassed that I did it with everyone there?" It was more a statement than a question, but it effectively diffused the tension.

"Yeah," Tony said quietly, leaning back in his chair again. "Now everyone knows."

Gibbs looked at him, trying not to laugh out loud. "Tony," he said incredulously, "everyone _already_ knew. And," he continued, "with the exception of Ducky and Palmer, every one of them has been on the receiving end at some point."

"Yeah but…" he stopped and Gibbs knew what was coming. Tony suddenly sat up again. "You've spanked the _Director_?"

"Well, she wasn't the Director at the time," Gibbs said, almost defensively.

"When? What did she do?" Tony asked, still trying to wrap his head around the idea.

Gibbs shook his head – he'd already said too much. "That's between me and her. But feel free to ask her sometime," he teased.

They sat quietly for a while – Tony wondering, Gibbs remembering.

"So," Tony said after a long time spent looking up at the stars, "what's the deal with that spoon anyway?"

Gibbs smiled up at the sky. "That thing has been in my family for a long time," he began wistfully. "I don't know why, but for some reason, my grandmother passed it on to my mother when I was born." Tony's ears perked up – he'd never heard Gibbs talk about his mother before. "She used that thing on me more times that I can count."

"So…your _mom_ used it on you?" Tony asked, suddenly not sure what to think about the fact that Gibbs had used it on him.

"My dad used it a couple of times too. In fact, the last time he used it on me was almost exactly like the last time I used it on you."

"What happened?" Tony asked, relaxing from his momentary worry. He heard Gibbs sigh reflectively and settled in for a story.

"I fell through the roof of the garage and landed on my knee on a board that had a nail sticking out of it. I'd been told at least three times that the roof of the garage was off limits because it needed to be repaired, but I'd gone up there to retrieve a Frisbee and took a wrong step. When we got home from getting my knee taken care of, my dad sent me to my room. I thought he meant for me to take a nap or something, so I argued with him that I was fine. I should have known. He came into my room with that spoon, made me drop my pants and laid into my right butt cheek for so long, I was sure I'd be sitting crooked for the rest of my life."

"Just like you did to me," Tony said quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gibbs nod. "How old were you?"

"Sixteen. Well, it was two days before I turned seventeen."

"So you got that whole thing you did to me from him?"

"Uh huh."

They sat quietly for a while longer before Tony spoke again. "Where did the paddle come from?"

He heard Gibbs laugh. "Oh, that came from my _dad's_ side of the family. Apparently, I get my stubbornness from both sides of my family tree."

Tony was feeling much more relaxed and confident, now that he and Gibbs had talked. "_The beer probably helped too_", he thought. "Did you get that strap," he shuddered involuntarily, "from your dad too?"

"No," Gibbs said as he stood up and stretched. "But it's getting late. That's a story for another time."

"Just tell me," Tony implored, still sitting in his chair.

Gibbs looked down at him, keeping his face as stern as he could while trying not to laugh at Tony's eagerness. "Not now," he said firmly. Tony opened his mouth to beg again, but Gibbs stopped him. "Go home before I go get it," he said threateningly.

Tony jumped up, "Good night, Boss," he said as he headed into the house and toward the front door. Gibbs chuckled as Tony scampered away, and followed him to the door. Tony stopped and turned around just in time to catch the smile Gibbs had been trying to hide. Then he dropped his head and looked at Gibbs sheepishly. "Sorry I…about…I don't know…"

Gibbs smiled fondly at the young man and put his hand gently on the back of Tony's head for a moment. "Good night, Son."


End file.
